While UA coach Tommy Lloyd said center Motiejus Krivas recovery from an ankle injury is “trending the right way,” it remains unclear if the Lithuanian sophomore will be able to play in the Wildcats’ opener against Canisius on Monday.
“He practiced for a good segment yesterday and he’s going to try to go again today,” Lloyd said at a news conference before Thursday’s practice. “But I’m not going to rush this thing.”
The Wildcats have two home games, against Canisius and Old Dominion, before heading to Wisconsin for a potentially difficult Nov. 15 matchup with the Badgers.
But if Krivas isn’t cleared in the next week and has to debut against Wisconsin, Lloyd says he’s also OK with that.
Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (14) talks to reporters inside the Richard Jefferson Gymnasium on the UA campus on Oct. 11.
“He’s a good basketball player. He’s got enough experience now,” Lloyd said. “If J-rock (trainer Justin Kokoskie) thought that was the best situation, then I would embrace it. When he’s ready, he’ll be ready.”
Also on the mend
Told that broadcaster Brian Jeffries was joking that Liam Lloyd might be is dad’s doghouse after he didn’t play in either of the Wildcats’ two exhibitions, Tommy Lloyd said it was simply a matter of a strained oblique.
“He was out for a couple weeks, and he just started practicing a little bit,” Lloyd said of his son. “Hey — you don’t practice, you don’t play. It’s the same for everybody.”
Arizona forward Trey Townsend (4) drives the ball to the net against Point Loma guard Zackry Paulsen (13) during the exhibition game at McKale Center on Oct. 28.
Townsend named to Malone list
Arizona’s Trey Townsend was one of 20 players named to the preseason watch list for the Karl Malone Award, honoring the top power forward in men’s college basketball.
Townsend, a fifth-year player who transferred from Oakland (Mich.), was named the Horizon League Player of the Year and received the Lou Henson Award as the top mid-major player last season.
Three other current Big 12 players joined Townsend on the Malone watch list: Norchad Omier of Baylor, Coleman Hawkins of Kansas State and JT Toppin of Texas Tech.
The Naismith will announce its final watch list positional award watch list, the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for centers, on Friday. Krivas is a candidate to make that list.
Already this week, Caleb Love was named to the Jerry West (shooting guard) watch list and KJ Lewis was named to the Julius Erving (small forward) watch list.
Arizona guard Anthony Dell’Orso (3) practices his free throws before the Wildcats second exhibition game of the 2024-25 preseason Monday in Tucson against Point Loma.
Over the line
Testing himself defensively against Point Loma’s Zack Paulsen on Monday, Arizona wing Anthony Dell’Orso found himself over the line in more ways than one.
He fouled Paulsen beyond the 3-point line, and committed a Class A technical afterward for what Lloyd said was basically standing over him in such a way that might suggest intimidation.
Attitude is “what you have to have,” Dell’Orso said. “You have to basically draw a line in the sand and say, `I’m not going back.’ ... That’s kind of what I did, and I knew it was an exhibition, so I was happy to kind of get that out there to start with.
“But won’t be much more of that in the season, because I’m a bit too smart for that.”
Dell’Orso said every refereee could interpret the situation differently, and had no issue with the way it was called.
“If anything, it’s my fault for being in that position,” Dell’Orso said. “I shouldn’t have fouled. But it was an exhibition, so I’m glad that we get to get started on Monday.”
Purdue guard Braden Smith, bottom center, battles for the ball with Arizona guard KJ Lewis, second from left, on Dec. 16, 2023 in Indianapolis.
Purdue out for now
When Arizona and Purdue agreed to meet in Indianapolis last season, it was with the understanding that a rematch would be held at a semi-neutral site closer to Tucson, probably in Las Vegas.
That idea was postponed when UA needed to keep the school-imposed minimum of 16 regular-season games at McKale Center, in part because the Wildcats also wound up scheduling UCLA in Phoenix this season.
Now, Lloyd said Thursday there is no return game against Purdue planned at all, though the two could meet at some point in the future.
“Initially there was but, but we had to make some adjustments,” Lloyd said.
“Purdue was good enough to let us do what we needed to do for our program.”
Still, Lloyd said he hoped fans would understand the Wildcats are trying to put themselves in the best position possible, and that having 10 home Big 12 games is a plus.
As college basketball continues to shift more of its major nonconference games into neutral-site arenas – sometimes because of NIL considerations – the Wildcats also agreed to play Duke early in the 2027-28 season at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium as part of a doubleheader that will also include Indiana facing Kansas.
“Jon (Scheyer, Duke coach) and I have had conversations about trying to make sure our programs stay connected, and we feel like there’s a lot of value in in playing each other,” Lloyd said. “We have obviously had to work through a third party to it together, and that’s going to be awesome. That has an opportunity to be a special night for college basketball.”
Mathurin torches Celtics
Although he averaged less than 13 points over his first four games with the Indiana Pacers this season, including two straight five-point performances, former Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin powered the Pacers to a 135-132 win over Boston on Wednesday in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Mathurin scored 30 points on 9-for-17 shooting, while the Pacers had seven players in double figure scoring, including former UA guard T.J. McConnell (10).
“I honestly haven’t caught up on any of the highlights, but Benn has it, you know?” said Lloyd, who coached Mathurin at Arizona in 2021-22.
“I know this: when Benn feels like he’s got something to prove, I wouldn’t bet against him.”
